Is Uterine Cancer Treatment Effective Through Surgery Or Therapies?

Uterine cancer is the most common type of cancer of female reproductive system that starts in the inner lining of the uterus, known as endometrium.

Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States.

It is found that, in the United States, approximately 39,080 women are with uterine cancer. Out of these, about 7,400 are expected to die from uterine cancer.

Uterus, also known as womb, is a hollow organ where a baby grows during pregnancy. It is located in the pelvis. Uterus has three parts: the cervix (lower end of the uterus), the corpus (middle part) and the fundus (the upper end).

The uterus wall consists of two layers. The inner layer of the uterus is called the endometrium and the outer layer is called the myometrium.

Uterine cancer develops when the cells in the uterus start growing uncontrollably. The cancer can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Uterine cancer is of two types: Adenocarcinoma and Sarcoma.

Adenocarcinoma, also known as endometrial cancer, is a cancer of glandular cells. This type of uterine cancer develops in ninety-five percent of uterine cancers. It usually develops from an uncontrollable growth of cells in the endometrium.

The second type of uterine cancer is sarcoma. This type of uterine cancer develops in the myometrium, the uterine muscle. Sarcoma can be found only 2-4 percent of all uterine cancers.

The chances of developing uterine cancer is very high if you are obese, never become pregnant, diet with rich of fatty foods, taking high doses of estrogen drugs without progesterone, with hypertension, with diabetes, have genetic problems, or with menstrual disorders.

The treatment for your uterine cancer depends on the cancer size and location, the extent your cancer has spread, rapidity of the cancer growth, and your general health condition.

Treatment can be done through surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Single or a combination of these can be done for uterine cancer treatment.

Surgery is the primary treatment for uterine cancer. Hysterectomy surgery is the surgical procedure for the removal of the uterus.

Hysterectomy is of two types: simple hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) and radical hysterectomy (removal of the entire uterus). The type of hysterectomy depends on the extent of the cancer.

Radiation therapy uses a high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. Radiation therapy may also be recommended after hysterectomy if you have high chances of developing cancer again.

External-beam radiation therapy is the most common type of radiation therapy where radiation will be passed using a machine outside the body.

Brachytherapy is another type of radiation therapy where the radiation is given to the inner lining of the uterus. However, brachytherapy can treat only a small area of the cancer.

Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment that uses a combination of drugs to reduce the cells growth and kill cancer cells. It may be recommended along with surgery for metastatic endometrial cancer and to avoid redevelopment of uterine cancer.

Is Uterine Cancer Treatment Effective Through Surgery Or Therapies? was last modified: February 28th, 2011 by pnreddy1